Archmaester Tywyck
Tywyck, preivously of the Westerlander House of Lannister, is the current Archmaester of the High Mysteries and Seneschal of the Citadel of Oldtown. Biography Early Life (325 - 339 AC) Born the son of the notoriously weak-willed Martyn Lannister, Tywyck was offered free reign of the world as a boy. Despite this, he developed a great hunger for knowledge - and his spoiled childhood led to his intense interest in pushing the boundaries of anything far beyond what was reasonable, having a great disdain for being told "no" to anything, whether it be to having three feasts a day or violating the ethical guidelines set forth by the Citadel. Upon his fourth-and-tenth nameday, he was sent to the Citadel; the kitchen staff believed it to be a clever move by the teenager's father to finally be free of the beast. Acolyte (340 AC - 342 AC) Upon reaching Oldtown, Tywyck proved himself to be a quick learner - and his famed last name ensured that all wished to be his friend, with various Archmaesters pampering the spoiled brat in the hopes his family would make a sizeable donation to the Citadel. As such, he received high marks in his studies, and was near waited on hand and foot by his superiors. A naturally curious and meddlesome individual, Tywyck developed the troublesome tendency of reaching such 'forbidden literature' that was kept under lock-and-key in the Citadel's library, almost solely because he had been told not to; this was where he first learned of the idea of magic as more than an abstract concept or a legend, pouring obsessively over what few tomes covering the topic he could find. It was here where the pubescent lion learned of such faraway places as Asshai, where visitors spoke of the shadows as people and the peoples but shadows, and Stygai, where not even the mysterious shadowmen dare step; such tall tales of forbidden lands only fueled young Tywyck's self-destructive tendency to yearn to go where he was not supposed to. When the Archmaester of Geography announced his plans to lead a small expedition to better chart the Jade Sea and it's various ports, the teenager of course jumped at the opportunity to join him. The rest is, unfortunately, a rather dark history. Enslavement (342 AC) Setting east aboard the inauspiciously named The Sea Snake's Fortune, Tywyck's group would have tragedy befall them as soon as they passed Volantis: having erred too close to the Basilisks in an attempt to avoid the toxic embers of Valyria, they were discovered by a patrol of corsairs and boarded soon after. Those not slain in the attack were captured and sold into slavery at Qarth, among them the wayward Lannister boy. Qarth (342 - 345 AC) Purchase (342 AC) Fortunately for Yorwyck, tales of maesters spread as far as the Jade Gates, and as a 'scholarly slave' he commanded a far greater price than the captured crewmen. He was bought by Xhuro Xhaxes, a member of the illustrious Pureborn, to serve as a tutor to his children. Having already been given the great fortune of being born with a silver spoon in his mouth, it seemed as if Tywyck's luck had not yet left him: tales of maesters and the riches of Casterly Rock alike spread as far as the Jade Gates, and as a 'scholarly' slave the teenager commanded a far higher price than that of the captured crewmen. He was bought by Xhuro Xhaxes, a member of the illustrious Pureborn, to serve as a tutor to his children; upon being presented with evidence that the acolyte was, in fact, the blood of the lion, he was freed and treated as visiting royalty - it seemed as if the Qartheen had been fed stories by returning merchants that greatly over-exaggerated the contents of the Rock's vaults - and offered any luxury that the teenager could ask for. The Warlocks (345 AC) Though it soon became clear he was the only living member of his group to have been spared the fate of being another's property, Tywyck showed no urgency in returning home; after all, why would he? The teenager supped on feasts of exotic creatures that he had never even heard of, had his every whim tended to by Xhaxes' legion of slaves, even come to fancy the thought of a bed slave upon his eighteenth nameday - such lives of luxury were hard to come by, after all, and he resolved to enjoy every minute of it that he could. As a curiosity and a foreigner, he was afforded audiences with all the great powers of the Queen of Cities, and was even granted unprecedented access to their resources in the hopes of impressing the Lions of the Rock; such was the case with a Pyaq Qalos, a warlock and member of the Undying Ones who taught the teenager how to use the blood of a slave to create a light that would never extinguish, how to give a hrakkar the venom of a manticore, and other spells that the immortal wizards considered little better than parlor tricks - to Tywyck, however, it was as if an entirely new world had been presented to him, as awestruck as any would be to the presentation of such awesome magicks. Escape (345 AC) Such gifts, it seems, did not come without a cost: unbeknown to Tywyck, both Pureborn and Undying alike laid claim to the disputed territory of Qarkash, and his 'tutoring' in the black arts had been but a move in the Great Game by Qalos. His gracious host, Xhuro Xhaxes, would be found slain in his bed by a beast that was an unholy amalgamation of snake and feline - and all was led to believe that only one man, a certain blonde-haired Westerosi, could have possessed both the opportunity and knowledge to conduct such an assassination. Forced to flee, Tywyck once more luckily evaded death as he snuck by the notorious guardsmen of the city, smuggling himself onto a merchant's vessel and, finally, returning home to Westeros. Maesterdom/Current Day (346 AC - now) Having left the Citadel but a lowly acolyte and having returned both a man grown and the sole survivor of a doomed expedition, Yorwyck was showered in praise for his quick thinking and ingenuity; shortly thereafter, he received his links in history, surgery, and languages (Scholar), largely in part due to the 'on the job' training he had received over having spent three serving as a house slave. Some four years later, he would receive his most impressive link: that one of Valyrian steel, signifying his understanding in the 'higher mysteries' of the occult. Some thirty years later, he would be named the Archmaester of Higher Mysteries, following his predecessor's strange and sudden death from a disease of the bowels - and the rest has yet to come. Having left the Citadel but a lowly acolyte and having returned both a man grown and the sole survivor of a doomed expedition, Tywyck was showered with praise by his superiors for his quick thinking and ingenuity - a lie the narcissistic Lannister fed into heavily, claiming that the tattoo on his thigh he had drunkenly received during a layover in Lys was, in fact, a slaver's mark, and he had escaped captivity one night armed with naught but a large stick and the moonlight to guide him. Publicly beloved, he returned to his studies as if nothing had happened; shortly thereafter, he received his links in History, Surgery, and Languages, largely in part due to the training he had received while a guest abroad. Five years after that, he received his link in the Higher Mysteries, a section of Valyrian steel that marked him as a man educated in the most obscure topic in Westeros. It was during this time he also developed an appetite that his meager stipend as a maester could not appease, and thus labored to develop a series of lucrative 'side businesses' whose profits he could reap. While not expressly forbidden for a maester to hold land, Tywyck had no illusions that such efforts would be greatly frowned upon by his superiors; as such, he assumed the identity of a 'Xaggo Dhaxes', a member of the Tourmaline Brotherhood that had in fact died from a pox while in the care of the Citadel and his body dissected. Utilizing both the man's Qartheen heritage and his own intimidate knowledge of the city, he went about acquiring a series of import/export businesses in Oldtown in the man's name, and assumed the role of a wealthy, often-absent merchant baron. A man named Chiswyck, believing to be acting in the Qartheen's stead, has managed the properties in 'his' stead. Thirty years after that, he would be named the Archmaester of Higher Mysteries and Knight of the Mind, following his predecessor's untimely death from an apparent disease of the bowels - and the rest of Tywyck's accomplishments are yet to come. Timeline * 325 AC - Tywyck is born to Martyn Lannister. * 339 AC - Tywyck is sent to the Citadel. * 342 AC - Tywyck departs on a Citadel-sponsored expedition to the Jade Sea. His vessel is captured and it's occupants are enslaved, including the Lannister. * 345 AC - Tywyck finds himself serving as an unwilling pawn in a political skirmish between the various powers of Qarth and, accused of murdering a member of the Pureborn, flees the city in search of home. * 346 AC - Tywyck returns to the Citadel, and is praised for his quick thinking to escape what had apparently been a death sentence to all others upon his vessel. He soon thereafter earns his links in history (copper), surgery (silver), and languages (platinum.) * 350 AC - Tywyck earns his link in the higher mysteries (Valyrian steel) at an unprecedented rate, in great part due to the teachings he had received as a pawn of the Qartheen warlocks. He establishes a series of business fronts under an assumed name to fund his own elaborate lifestyle, as well as to have access to unaccounted funds to pursue research in fields frowned upon by the Citadel. * 380 AC - Tywyck is named the new Archmaester of Higher Mysteries and Knight of the Mind, following the strange and sudden death of his predecessor. He uses his status to acquire Citadel funds to bankroll his numerous expeditions across Essos and beyond, as well as to gain access to the most restricted of literature possessed by the Citadel. * 390 AC - Current day. Supporting Characters * Qarlton, overworked and overstressed courier - Navigator * Steffon, Tender of the Candles, and weirdly sycophantic towards Tywyck, Trader * Trombo, hired Myrish thug, Reaver Category:House Lannister Category:Maester Category:Westerlander Category:Archmaester